Welcome

Welcome to the POZ/AIDSmeds Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ/AIDSmeds community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Author
Topic: First Day on Atripla (Read 6796 times)

I started Atripla last night and I woke constantly every hour or two. Very vivid dreams and some mild sweating. I guess I knew this was possible, just hoped I wouldn't experience it. Felt pretty rough the first half of the day today. Im about to take it again tonite. Nervous, but hoping it will slowly get better with each dose. I have read on here that the first few weeks can be tough.

My first day was similar. My night sweats continue (not like they were b4) but every night nonetheless. I am only on day 22. I can sleep 5 hours now no problem. Don't know if that is atrip or my mental distress (I am prone to insomnia). I am waiting to see if these things go away. There was a dramatic change after the first day though. Good luck and keep me posted.

Well as I did not start out on Atripla when I was diagnosed 4 years ago, I did start on susiva, which is one part of the atripla combo. I also was up on a constant hourly basis with hallucinations and still continue to have vivid dreams and sweats. It actually lasted a day and got better each day. Now I am on Atripla and since I was taking the sustiva there is no difference, I do continue to get dreams they are not nearly like what you experience the first day or two. I do seem to have days that are worse then others but, nothing that can not be handled.

Wow what a difference a day makes! After having such a rough first nite as I wrote about above, my second night (last night) was a HUGE difference. I slept so well. Woke up once I think. And today I feel great, so much better than yesterday.

You.should be fine. The side effects get to be less each day. I actually felt good today I was having trouble catching my breath when I play tennis and today was like 4 months ago. it feels good to know that something is killing the virus. Pm me if u want to talkMatt

Part of that is probably a little panic. The side effects do go away, a lot quicker than I expected. It knocked out my 750,000 VL completely in 4 weeks. Night sweats lasted about 2-3 weeks off and on, weird dreams subsided about a week after that - I only get the weird dreams now if I drink that night. It's all worth it. My CD4s are going up slow but I only had 2 when I was diagnosed. This is an awesome drug - stick with it!

Gonna start on Atripla in a little over a week after my big meeting at work. Good to hear what to expect and that the sideeffects tend to go away. I already tend to have bad dreams to begin with without remembering them though.

It definitely is a weird medication. I still have weird dreams and ones that seem so real I can not believe it. I was on the sustiva which is in the atipla and did great, now on the atripla and will get results Tuesday to see if it does just as well. I think these medications are unbelievable what they do now. I think you will always have some sort of side effects but just have to learn to deal with them and know that they are going to get better.

I too will be beginning Atripla, as soon as my case manager finds a way to pay for it

Good to hear these stories, makes me more at ease !

Will

Hey Will, you may already know this and be on top of it, but there are many grants and Atripla's website has forms for applying for assistance. Just wanted to pass that along in case you hadn't heard, I hate that anyone has to go without.

I'm almost 3 weeks in and side effects are minimal. I get dizzy about 2 hours after I take it (if I'm still up). The only other thing I am noticing is increased acne on my face. Anyone else experience this? Does it go away? How do you address it? Over the counter acne creams?

Its gonna be fine. I just got tests back from first month cd4 up to 544 from 325 and v/l down to 2,993 from 800,000. You will probably be dizzy tomorrow morning but after that it should get better. Good luck

Wow what a difference a day makes! After having such a rough first nite as I wrote about above, my second night (last night) was a HUGE difference. I slept so well. Woke up once I think. And today I feel great, so much better than yesterday.

Besides some minor sleep problems and anxiety that was unrelated to this specific combination, i felt absolutely terrific the first week. You were treatement naive? So you understand that your virus levels are being cut dramatically down, many times over, every day. Enjoy. Be thankful.

Logged

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

The first dose was uneventlful. I did lay in a half-awake / half-asleep state for a couple of hours but I think that was just my anxiety. I did notice some mild dizziness when I got up to use the bathroom but it wasn't bad. I slept well the rest of the night and woke up just fine. I did feel very, very slightly drunk for about half an hour after I got up, but other than that nothing.

I did dream and I can say it was a weird one but I wouldn't call it vivid by any means. It wasn't disturbing at all. It was amusing now that I think about it LOL. I treated myself to a couple extra hours of sleep too and I feel great!

Had my first dose last night. I have been groggy/dizzy all day today at work. Is this normal? I did have vivid/weird dreams last night, but I slept well for the most part. No other major side effects other than the dizziness that I'm currently experiencing.

The grogginess/dizzyness will ease up after a few weeks, maybe less. I've noticed I'm not really getting the headaches anymore either. I do wish I had a little more energy but I think that will come in time. It hasn't even been 4 weeks for me yet. I take that as a good sign.

I do think, as others have mentioned, that Atripla does cause Bruxism (grinding of teeth). I think that this is also a temporary side effect. I have Bruxism (before taking Atripla) and the medication made it worse. I suspect the headaches people report are a result of grinding their teeth at night. The feeling of wanting to grind my teeth has worn off at Week 3 however.

My one week update: I'm feeling SO MUCH better. Those first few days were concerning. My energy was low, my lymph nodes were SORE instead of just enlarged, and I just didn't feel like my usual self. After a week, my lymph nodes have actually reduced noticeably in size (after almost a year of being enlarged), and I feel a lot more energetic. I've been taking care not to drink and to make sure I get plenty of sleep, and I can report no weird dreams, no more hangover feelings in the mornings, and I'm happy. Can't wait to get the lab results.

It's a bit weird how differrent people experience differrent side-effects. One side effect I continue to experience is ringing in the ears. It's real loud about 2 hours after ingestion and crops up from time to time during the day.

I started Atripla 10 days ago. The first night wasn't bad, but the second night was. I had a really violent dream that freaked me out (luckily my doctor had warned me this might happen) and the dizziness in the morning was like I was drunk. I have not had a dream again, and the dizziness has been pretty much gone since the fourth morning. Yesterday I noticed that I'm getting the rash, but it doesn't itch (yet). I've been reading these posts since before I took the first pill, so I'm glad this site exists. If I hadn't read the posts (and if my doctor had not prewarned me) I would have lost it. Reading these experiences made it a lot easier.